He has stated clearly through the media that the DAP should not “grab all urban seats for themselves”!

Guess Dr Teo is not going to be bullied by the DAP, which obviously feels that it is the top dog in the opposition world after the party managed to win 12 seats in the State election last year.

This compared to PKR’s just three seats, which is even more pathetic if you consider that the party stood in 48 seats! That’s like 6 per cent of seats contested.

Compare this to the 12 out of 15 seats for the DAP … that’s an 80 per cent success rate.

Now before the State election, the DAP were pretending to kowtow to PKR as the top opposition party because they even agreed for PKR State Liaison Chief Baru Bian to be Chief Minister if Pakatan Rakyat (PR) managed to capture the State.

How this changed once the election was over! DAP State Chairman Wong Ho Leng is now opposition leader and Baru Bian has been relegated to behind the line of DAP’s Chinese assemblymen and assemblywomen.

Dr Teo’s beef with his so-called PR partner is that DAP has been taking all the urban seats for itself because the party knows that it is easier to get urban voters all riled up with their claims and empty promises. One can make all sorts of promises when one knows one would never have to fulfil them!

Basically DAP knows that it is easier to win in urban seats and they want to win because they want to take over Putrajaya.

Dr Teo pointed out that PKR presented the DAP with a “gift” last year when it agreed to trade the urban seat of Piasau for the semi-urban seat of Senadin.

The doctor for women’s problems (he’s a gynaecologist) lost in Senadin to Datuk Lee Kim Shin, and the DAP’s candidate Ling Sie Kong is now the assemblyman for Piasau.

Of course Dr Teo is annoyed, disappointed and frustrated. He believes if he had stood in Piasau, he would now carry the title of Yang Berhormat.

So now he wants Miri. He has staked his claim and is not concerned about negotiations between his party and DAP over seat allocation, which began all the way back in September last year — yes, a whole six months go.

Half a year later and they still cannot agree because each one is only concerned about outdoing the other for a seat of power.

In fact Dr Teo has already printed his campaign banner. It shows him looking rather dapper in a blue tuxedo.

It says clearly “Dr Michael Teo Yu Keng for Parlimen Miri”.

No beating about the bush. This doctor is certainly not going to let the DAP dictate where he will stand. Now we will see if the DAP is willing to give up its monopoly on urban Chinese seats.

The Borneo Post report:

PKR adamant on contesting in Miri

MIRI: Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) is determined to field a candidate in the Miri parliamentary seat despite claims on the constituency from the Democratic Action Party (DAP).

PKR Miri chairman Dr Michael Teo stressed that he has staked his claim on the seat.

He said the exchange of the semi-urban Senadin seat for the urban Piasau seat during last year’s state election was a “gift” from PKR to DAP.

“I hope DAP will reciprocate by respecting PKR’s wish to contest Miri, and not grab all urban seats for themselves,” said Dr Teo recently.

“I’ve no problem relating to Miri folk, including people of all races, and those from outside of the city.”

Dr Teo said he has been fully involved in politics for the last 12 years and has stood in both state and federal elections.

A winnable candidate, he said, must be seasoned and experienced with strong principles; and be good at solving local problems, but also familiar with national issues — qualities Dr Teo said he has to offer.

He said he is confident of capturing Miri and has personally gone to the ground to ensure everything is in place, such as manpower and election machinery.

“We’ve been working very hard since the last state elections not only in areas allocated to us, but also in other areas already covered by DAP and PAS,” he added.